Sun beating down, flashing on the sea of neon yellow shorts, the JV tennis team takes the court. Carlos Riddle ’17 steps onto the concrete, shirt gripping to his chest. His formidable Lake Highlands opponent stands at the ready, knees bent, slightly rocking back and forth. Riddle serves the ball, acing his opponent and earning the point. The match continues, sun bearing heavily down on the two opponents, wearing them down. Forehand followed by forehand, backhand returned with a volley, the play remains neck and neck, summoning a tie breaker. The score extends to 6-4, Lake Highlands in the lead. The ball zips past the net, colliding with the intersection of the alley and the serving box, zooming past Riddle’s reach and ending the match.
Unfortunately, this was the scene on Friday, September 18. Coming off a shutout victory against Irving the previous Tuesday, Jesuit faced off against Lake Highlands and unexpectedly lost by the score of 3-9. Confident in their abilities, Head Coach Paul McDaniel decided to leave his top eight behind and play his less experienced players, stating, “I wanted to give our younger players an opportunity, and we matched up really close.” In fact, many matches ended with a seven-point tiebreaker, indicating a much closer match than the score suggests; however, Lake Highlands seemed to capitalize on these tie breakers. Attesting to this, McDaniel says, “These guys need to learn how to play close matches,” and build on their experience. New recruit Andrew Gesalman ’17 lined up with team veteran Joey Cistulli ’17 to compete in his first doubles match of the season, adding, “It was a disappointing beginning, but I cannot wait to redeem myself at my next match.”
Seeking redemption, the same team matched up against Irving Nimitz on Tuesday, September 23rd and destroyed them 10-1. Coming off a loss the previous week, Gesalman ’17 proudly won both of his matches and commented that it “felt good to get my first wins of the season.” The second newest player, Carlos Riddle ’17, adds, “The win was a nice transition from last week. I’m excited to see what this season holds.” Although only the Junior Varsity team competed in this match, the entire program is excited by the win, emphasized by team leader Clark Shannon ’17: “Although I didn’t get the chance to play, our team really came out and gave it their best. In the end, we came out on top and it was another great win for our season.” Things are looking up for the Jesuit Tennis squad, with the younger players growing into their roles and gaining experience rapidly and the top eight continuing to assert their dominance.
The next match is against the Woodlands in Houston on Friday, September 25th.
Good Luck Rangers!
